Off the peak
by Valeriasg1
Summary: If John Sheppard had learnt anything during his full three years in Atlantis, it was not to underestimate the power of science. Established John x Rodney x Elizabeth, tag to 3x18 'Submersion'


Title: Off the peak  
Character/Pairing: established John/Elizabeth/Rodney

Spoilers: 3x18 Submersion (It's a tag)

Beta: My wonderful Ky  
Prompt Number: #13: High

If John Sheppard had learnt anything during his full three years in Atlantis, it was not to underestimate the power of science.

Never.

Just the thought of walking the monotonous corridors of the platform made a wave of exhaustion wash over him and his muscles throb in earnest disapproval.

Ronon and Teyla didn't look any less tired than he felt and, yet, his boss and the lead scientist, usually the weak links when it came to physical strength and endurance, had just taken off to resume the exploration of the drilling platform.

He knew it was always a welcome change for Elizabeth to be away from her office and the paperwork that piled onto her desk at an incredible rate, but he thought there wasn't much in this place to be much excited about.

He huffed a sigh of relief as their chatter and steps died down the corridor and he closed his eyes, welcoming the enveloping sense of heaviness that came before sleep.

hr 

When his sensory awareness returned - 5 hours later according to Ronon - he wasn't really sure whether to be surprised or not that they weren't back yet.

With the excuse of stretching his muscles and letting Teyla rest peacefully for

a little while longer – he couldn't imagine the physical and emotional stress she'd had to bear during this latest ordeal - he wandered to the main room where the scientific team looked busier than ants collecting food for winter.

The buzz of activity brought the corner of his mouth up in a resigned smile and he concentrated on the voices of his friends, loud among the rest and accompanied by Zelenka's thick accent in the opposite side of the room, where the main station was.

He slalomed his way to them, through concentrated people who didn't bother to check where they were going and abandoned coffee mugs and he thought there were more of the latter.

Indeed, both Rodney and Elizabeth were sipping absently from their military issued cups in between words and Zelenka looked just thankful for the brief moments of silence coffee provided and his fingers flew, nimble and fast, over the large touch-screen.

"Hey, sleeping beauty." Rodney addressed him sarcastically as he approached them, but, other than an inward eye-roll, John didn't have any reaction to his comment.

"Found anything interesting?" He leaned against the side of the station with his hip, only to be waved away by the Czech with a muttered "it's very fragile."

He licked his lips nervously and moved over to where Elizabeth was perched on a stool, eyes on her terminal as she quickly scanned the ancient writings on the screen.

"I don't really understand much of what I'm translating," she looked up at him with a smile, and he gently brushed his fingers down her arm, "but they believe we can at least gather important info on how to improve the city's efficiency. And I found the crew's personal logs." Her eyes shone brighter at that and he smiled at the glimpse of the sheer awe of their first days in Atlantis he read in them. "There are passwords, but Rodney said he can easily crack—"

"Elizabeth." The voice cut her off with its trademark mix of annoyed and commanding tones and she turned back to Rodney. "What's this, afternoon tea? I remind you we're at a crucial point here." His mug-free arm flailed towards them while his eyes remained focused on the task at hand.

"There's a chance the geo-thermal energy can be used to recharge depleted ZPMs. We're looking into it." She squared her shoulders and exhaled through her nose and then looked briefly upwards in what John had come to call her happy attitude.

While being perfectly able to dissimulate her feelings in other occasions, excitement just radiated from her in an unmistakable way.

"Oh, for God's sake…"

"Yes Rodney, I'm on it." Elizabeth sighed and, with a last amused glance at John, she resumed her reading.

"I'm leaving before he throws a fit. See you later." He squeezed her shoulder and headed back for the crew quarters.

Maybe Ronon was in the mood for a game of Naval Battle on his terminal. Just a distraction to pass the time until Rodney and Elizabeth decided to leave the studies to the perfectly capable team and go back to Atlantis.

hr 

Their high lasted three days and three nights.

Even in her bunk, Elizabeth read aloud the personal logs she had downloaded from the archive. Rodney said it helped him overcome his claustrophobia, but John suspected they were still looking for the reason the project was abandoned.

McKay was the worst kind of hypochondriac John had ever met, but he was pretty sure claustrophobia wasn't one of Rodney's many worries.

Being lulled to sleep by her soft, steady voice was also a surrogate for both men, although a weak one, for the lack of physical closeness of the last days.

On the morning of the fourth day, they discovered that the amount of geo-thermal energy needed to charge a ZPM was too great and the process too long. The planet's resources would be drained out in less than fifty years, and even taking the risk there wasn't enough energy to provide them with two completed ZPMs.

The last speculation faded into the familiar buzz of the puddle jumper an hour into the trip back to Atlantis, much to the relief of the rest of John's team and the few scientists clustered in the back section of the ship.

Slouched in his chair, Rodney soon dozed off, his head against the side wall of the jumper, and Elizabeth was having a hard time keeping hers propped upon her hand, her elbow threatening to slip off the control panel every time she indulged herself in a little rest by closing her eyes.

John poked her arm lightly and she hastily straightened up, trying to regain a little composure.

"You okay?" He asked in a murmur.

She sighed her assent and scrubbed her face with her hands. "I'm just out of adrenaline I guess. And caffeine." She managed a weak smile.

John nodded and returned his attention to the screen.

"I still have some Athosian tea if you want. I am afraid it is lukewarm now, but it should help make the journey home less uncomfortable." Teyla had stepped into the front room holding a large thermos of what Elizabeth supposed was tea, a strong blend made of local herbs, some of which had a stimulating effect similar to Earth guarana.

She pondered the offer for a moment and then reached out. "Thank you, Teyla."

hr 

It was already late when the jumper broke the surface of the ocean and the thousand lights of Atlantis greeted their return, blinking and sparkling against the darkness of the night sky.

Tiredness and sore muscles from being cramped into the small ship for hours were forgotten as everyone gathered as close to the window as they could.

"I don't get often the chance to see Atlantis from outside like this. It's wonderful." Elizabeth whispered and as they watched the city draw closer, no one felt they could disagree.

hr 

Another good hour went by before John could head down to Elizabeth's quarters, as Teyla and Ronon had wanted to arrange the following week's gym training classes for the military personnel.

That gave Elizabeth and Rodney time to freshen up a little, but he wanted to make the most of this free evening and he started fidgeting during the informal meeting until Teyla let him off the hook. Out of compassion or, better, out of frustration.

When he finally made it to her room, his lovers were a messy tangle on the large bed in the middle of the room and, with both of them wearing matching blue robes, he couldn't tell where one finished and the other started.

"Guys?"

Nothing.

He lighted the main lamp overhead and a double moan could be heard from their direction.

"Come on, you can't be out cold already." John sat down on the edge of the bed and a distinctive smell of soap tickled his nostrils. He ran a hand down the closer back and Elizabeth purred contentedly, but didn't budge. He leaned over a little and repeated the gesture on Rodney, halting his hand on his hip and squeezing.

"We've had no moments to ourselves on that platform. Are you sure you want to spend an off evening sleeping?" His hand slipped between them and searched for access beneath Rodney's robe. The latter jerked away from him and pulled the robe tighter around himself.

"We were planning on waiting up, but you were late." Elizabeth said groggily, turning her head slightly towards him.

"And the bed looked so inviting…" Rodney added, curling further into Elizabeth.

" i I /i should be inviting." He pointed at himself even though neither of them was really looking at him.

"And you are John, just… the bed is just a little more so tonight." She was trying to be diplomatic, but there was an exasperated edge to her voice.

"You should have had more tea." He muttered, but Elizabeth didn't reply. Whether she hadn't heard or just wanted to avoid an argument, he couldn't tell.

"It's a matter of priorities," Rodney waved a hand in the air even in his semi-lethargic state, "and right now, sleep comes first."

"Sleep always comes first for you." John retorted, his eyebrows knitted together in a scowl.

He made a 'no' gesture with his index finger. "Not true. Work comes first."

John rolled his eyes. "Do I even make your top ten?"

"Gentlemen, please." If he hadn't been just a little irritated at Elizabeth, too, he would have laughed at the way she slurred one of her most used expressions.

This was a battle he couldn't win and he opted for a truce. "Can I at least sleep in the middle?"

"That's a reasonable compromise." She conceded and rolled away from Rodney onto the other side of the bed.

He changed quickly into a pair of grey sweatpants and grabbed his tattered copy of War and Peace – he had just broken into the last third of the book and he felt quite proud about that – as Elizabeth and a quite fussy Rodney discarded their robes on a nearby chair and slipped under the thick blankets in their underwear.

"Coming through." John waved the lights off except for the small reading lamp above the headboard and wiggled his way into the gap between the two warm bodies.

"Happier now?" The silk of Elizabeth's ivory camisole – one of his favourites – felt cool against his skin as she made herself comfortable at his side, adjusting her position to fit the shape of his body.

He accepted her languid kiss willingly and twisted an arm free of the tangle of limbs to pull her closer.

"Yes." He gave her another gentle peck on the mouth, a sly grin playing across his lips, before turning over to his male lover, who had already claimed one of John's legs to curl his around and was quickly falling back asleep. His arm was flung over the other man's abdomen, his fingers loosely cupping Elizabeth's hip, linking all three together.

John trailed a path of kisses from Rodney's forehead down to his nose, waking him up just enough to have him respond when their lips met. The younger man's relaxed sigh echoed quietly in the silent room and John pulled back, at least a little satisfied.

He picked up his book and found the page with the bent corner – Rodney and Elizabeth were outraged at such mistreatments of books and he now owned a massive amount of unused bookmarks – and he started a new chapter.


End file.
